What a Week

Talk about bad timing: Just days after a building was demolished to make room for a downtown arena, funding for the project crumbled as well. The Louisville Arena Authority is now trying to piece together a new $360 million financing plan by September, in order for the arena to open in time for the start of the 2010 college basketball season. Maybe the University of Louisville cheerleaders could hold a car wash.

+1

In an effort to reduce Jefferson County’s 25 percent dropout rate, school and government leaders gathered for a summit at Bellarmine University last week and recommended providing more extracurricular activities. (An after-school video game club? A class devoted to the art of graffiti?) And if that doesn’t do the trick, attendees suggested perhaps strengthening truancy laws — if you can’t lure the kids with clubs, just threaten them with arrest.

+4

The state has determined that slashing security at an office where crazed clients are the norm isn’t a good idea after all. Plans to save money by eliminating nine of 11 security guard positions at the Jefferson County human services office (the state’s largest) were cancelled after employees explained that they often have to deal with angry and sometimes violent clients.

-2

Preserving a historic landmark? Eh. Maximizing your profits? Now that’s more like it. Developers last week announced plans to tear down the historic Colonial Gardens, a 106-year-old beer garden in the South End. Although it’s a local landmark, developers say it would be too expensive to renovate; instead, they’re planning to demolish the structure to make way for a shiny new retail development.